


Music to My Ears

by Springmagpies



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, FitzSimmons being cute, Fluff, Geminids Exchange, Only a tiny bit of angst, earth vs space
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:29:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21788299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Springmagpies/pseuds/Springmagpies
Summary: It's Jemma's first day at her new job and she very much just wanted a cup of tea to start her day. However, along with her tea she also begins to here her Soul Song, the melody that matches her Soul Mate. Will she ever find the notes that match her own?
Relationships: Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons
Comments: 22
Kudos: 68





	Music to My Ears

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LibbyWeasley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LibbyWeasley/gifts).



> It's time for a Soul Mate fic! This story is for the wonderful @libbyweasley for the Geminids Shower exchange! I'm super excited to be writing for one of her prompts because she is the absolute best and deserves the world! I hope you enjoy! 💕

It was driving Jemma crazy, the tune that refused to stop circling around in her head. It was like her brain had become a broken record player, looping over the same groove hour after hour. It wasn’t that she minded the melody. In fact, she felt quite the opposite. She greatly enjoyed the sweet little song, its notes playing in her head so feather-light and gentle. It had, at first, almost a calming effect when it had popped into her brain, her heart fluttering as the tune took root. 

She had been standing in line at The Hubbub, the coffee shop nearest to her new office building, desperate for the warm comfort of a cup of tea before her first day at her new job. The coffee shop had been packed with people, rumbling and bustling with nine to fivers on their way to work. Jemma had been pushed about so many times in the line and only heard an apology from a man who ended up getting shoved as well before she’d even gotten a proper look at his face. It caused her anxiety level, that had been approaching a critical point, to spike even higher. She was close to leaving the packed room without her tea when the melody drifted into her mind. A wave of calm washed over her and she smiled to herself, somehow gaining the needed peace to remain in the coffee shop until her name was called and she bounded off to work with a renewed spring in her step.

The tune carried her through the nerves of orientation. Despite the job being her dream one, the first day of anything was always one of heightened emotions. But it went by in a flash, the melody never leaving her mind. 

The next day went by in a similar fashion. Busy coffee shop, pile of projects, getting to know the person she shared her lab with, a rather handsome engineer named Fitz, and  _ the song.  _ If anything, the song was growing ever so slightly louder as the day progressed and she and Fitz began on their assigned project for the company. At one point in the day she had to literally shake her head to try and focus on her work instead of getting lost in the music.

It was like it was a song she hadn’t heard in ages had suddenly come back on the radio, though she could never remember hearing it before. She had hummed it on the way home, twiddling her thumbs against the steering wheel. She had hummed it in the shower and as she brushed out her wet hair. And then she had stopped, midway through making dinner for her and her roommate Daisy. In a strange rush of frustration, she realized she had been humming the same part of the song over and over again for the last forty-eight hours and couldn’t remember how to finish the melody.

“Is everything alright?” Daisy asked, noticing how Jemma had gone rigid with her hand still grasping the stirring spoon. 

Jemma shook her head but the song refused to budge. “I can’t get this song out of my head,” she huffed, relinquishing her hold on the wooden spoon. She spun away from the stove and faced her friend, resting her back against the stove-adjacent countertop.

“Okaay,” Daisy drew out, “and this is causing you to burn the soup because…”

“Because I cannot for the life of me figure out how the bloody thing ends!”

“Well, why don’t you just look it up or something?”

Jemma huffed. “I have no idea what it’s called. In fact, I don’t even remember how I know it. It’s the strangest thing.”

Daisy suddenly sat up a little straighter as a smile flittered over her face. “Jems, I think you got your Song.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Jemma said, flicking a strand of hair out of her face as her eyes rolled to the ceiling. Despite her quickly dismissing the idea, her heart rate began to quicken. 

“Oh, okay. Since it’s so normal, just out of curiosity, when did you start hearing this random song that popped into your head that you don’t know the end of? Could it perhaps have been when you started at your new job where you had to interact with new people and therefore potential soulmates?”

Jemma slumped her shoulders and went back to stirring the soup. “Daisy,” she chided, her eyes closing as she tried to keep her heart from jumping into her throat, “you’re being ridiculous. This is not a Soul Song, just an everyday earworm.”

“An everyday earworm doesn’t just pop up out of nowhere with no trace of who wrote it, where it comes from, wh--”

“It’s not a Soul Song,” Jemma interrupted, tapping the spoon on the edge of the pot with a dulled clink, “now can we drop it, please?” 

Daisy nodded reluctantly as she leaned back in her chair at the counter, having folded forward with excitement. “Okay.” There was a brief pause where the two didn’t say anything, Daisy looking at her friend carefully as Jemma tried to mold her face into something that could pass as normal. 

If she was being honest, her gut was telling her that it was indeed a Soul Song but the idea that she had met her soulmate, had no idea who it was, and the universe was suddenly deeming them perfect for one another was rather overwhelming. She also couldn’t help but think of Fitz, which was odd. For some reason, she was rather disappointed she had heard it before properly meeting him. Boxing away her worries, she was grateful when Daisy broke the silence.

“So, how was your second day at work?”

Without further preamble, Jemma launched into all her favorite details of her new lab as she ladled out their dinner and sat at the empty twirling stool. “They have state of the art compound microscopes and an entire storage room designated just for our project! Obviously, we will need to reorganize because in that sense they are in terrible need of help. Fitz and I started working on the color code today.” A slight blush tinted Jemma’s cheeks as her lab partner’s name left her lips. “That’s actually why I was a little late getting home because Fitz and I got caught in a good conversation. He has such brilliant ideas, Daisy! You should see some of his designs! It really feels like the first time someone understands what I’m saying when I speak.”

“Ow,” Daisy cut in, dropping her spoon back into her soup.

“No,” Jemma rushed, her hand flying to squeeze her friend’s bicep in reassurance, “that’s not what I meant! I just mean it’s nice to have someone to talk science with and I feel like he and I have similar experiences and--”

Daisy grinned, her face relaxing with a giggle. “Relax, Jems. I know what you meant. Now tell me more about this mysterious Mr. Fitz Man.”

“Well he’s an engineer--”

“An engineer!” Daisy interrupted again with an over-dramatic gasp, “so he’s good with his hands.” As her friend wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, Jemma tilted her head forward and shot Daisy a disappointed look at the insinuation. 

Still smiling and uttering an unapologetic apology, Daisy twirled her hand as a gesture for Jemma to continue. 

Jemma took a deep breath. “So he’s an engineer, really sweet and smart. He’s from Scotland--”

“A SCOTTISH engineer! So he’s good with his hands, he’s brilliant, and he’s got an accent! Okay, okay, I’ll stop now. See, eating soup. Can’t talk with soup in my mouth can--”

Jemma shoved the hovering spoon into Daisy’s mouth, sloshing some of its contents down her friend’s pajama shirt. With Daisy’s mouth finally focused on her food and not on making more comments about her friend’s cute coworker, Jemma finished relaying her day. Talking about her dream job and her lovely new lab partner, Jemma barely noticed as the song in her head became ever so slightly louder.

* * *

It was a late night at the lab and Jemma was on her third cup of perfectly made tea that evening. Fitz, being the adorable God send that he was, had quickly learned how to prepare her drink properly so she could avoid the evening crowd at the coffee shop. He truly was the best.

“How’s Doc feeling?” Jemma asked, her hands cradled around her mug and leaning over Fitz’s back to get a better look at the drone. If she also happened to get a pleasant whiff of his cologne and benefit off the heat he radiated, that wasn’t so bad. 

Over the last month, Jemma had grown very close to Fitz, their personal bubbles reflecting the change and shrinking around one another as they moved about the lab. They were finishing up a project together and had even applied for a prestigious research grant to study Dendrotoxins and their applications in non-lethal weaponry. This, and their flourishing friendship, meant they were spending lots of time together. He was now even a frequent visitor at her and Daisy’s apartment, something Daisy always made little hinting remarks about, and had quickly worked his way into being one of Jemma’s favorite people in existence and one of her best friends in the world. 

The massive crush she had on him, however, was something that she continually tried to swallow down, it and the Song that still spun around in her head. There were some days where it felt like she had headphones on, blasting the song in her ears, but she tried very hard to focus on other things. She did not have time for a Soul Song she still refused to admit aloud was such a thing. 

“I think Doc will feel much better now that I’ve implemented your ingenious idea,” Fitz responded, turning his head to the side to see her. His back was still hunched over the table but his smile was pointed directly at her. 

Jemma grinned back. “The beauty of teamwork.”

“We are quite the team, aren’t we. Unstoppable, I’d say.”

“Yes, quite.”

They lingered for a moment, staring at one another with stupid grins on their faces when Jemma’s laptop pinged with an email. Both their attentions shot towards the sound but Jemma was the one that sidled over to answer it.

“It’s from Weaver,” Jemma tossed over her shoulder, her mouse hovering just over the name. She clicked open the email and gasped, alerting Fitz and causing him to do a one-eighty.

“What is it?”

“We got it!” Jemma gushed, her hazel eyes brimming with happiness.

Fitz came to stand behind her, his chest hovering just above her shoulder blades. “We what?” Then his eyes scanned the email and he let out the cutest little happy cry Jemma had ever heard. “Bloody hell, we got the grant! Jemma, we got it!”

In the excitement of the moment, the limited personal bubble they each had popped and Jemma wrapped her arms around his neck, Fitz spinning her around happily as she scream-laughed in delight. Her foot nearly knocked over a beaker but neither of them cared. They would get to change the world together. 

When Fitz put her down it felt as though she had been flying with the aid of pixie dust, all the merriest thoughts running through her mind. Her arms were still around his neck and he was holding her by the waist, their faces hovering so close she could feel him breathe warm air onto her cheek. Jemma watched as his eyes darkened to a beautiful shade of twilight blue before flicking to her lips. She flashed a daring smile and, summoning her courage, closed the small gap between them. Their lips met in the most dizzying kiss she’d ever experienced and she sank into his arms. 

His hands roamed up her sides and she tightened her arms so as to pull him close, leading him to lean down to deepen the kiss. She could have sworn that time froze then and there, tasting tea on his tongue and breathing in his scent. Eventually, she couldn’t be sure when, they finally parted and Fitz’s face radiated a charming, enchanting glow. 

“I’ve wanted to do that forever,” he said, ducking to touch his forehead to hers. She let out a breathy laugh before kissing his nose.

“Me as well.”

He suddenly cleared his throat and stuck his hand out mock-seriously. “Well, congratulations on the grant, Dr. Simmons.”

She shot him a smile and placed her palm in his. “You as well, Dr. Fitz.”

Their hands went up and down twice before Fitz used it as leverage to pull her close once more. She happily went the motion and giggled into his kiss. 

Her heart was singing merrily and if she’d been paying attention she’d have caught a familiar tune. It wasn’t until the car ride home when panic set in. After noticing it was nearly one in the morning and the building was locking down, they finally parted ways for the night. It was Friday, Saturday technically, so as per usual they planned to see each other in the morning, Fitz stopping by so they could finish up whatever paperwork they hadn’t managed to complete. Now they quite a bit to talk about as well. Jemma was half-way home when she remembered her Soul Song, noticing herself humming it as she was switching lanes. Her heart crumbled in her chest then and all the air left her lungs. 

“Daisy! Daisy, please be awake!” Jemma cried as she flung open the apartment door. Still, being Jemma, she remembered to put her keys on the hook and her shoes in the closet but the panic was still trailing through her nervous system like wildfire. She desperately needed her friend. 

“Jemma?” came Daisy’s voice from down the hall. She was in her pajamas and her eyes were obviously still coated with sleep. “What’s happening? You okay?” 

Jemma rushed down the hall in the partial darkness and Daisy wrapped her in a quick hug for lack of knowing what else to do. Jemma wasn’t crying exactly but her breaths were shallow. When Daisy let her go, Jemma took a few steps back and put her face into her hands.

“Fitz and I kissed,” Jemma said through her fingers, the simple statement packed with a thousand different emotions that she didn’t quite know how to start explaining. 

Lowering her hands, Jemma saw Daisy’s face split into a wide grin. “You and Fitz kissed? Jemma! That’s great.” She paused at the look on her friend’s face. “That’s a great thing, right?”

“It’s a wonderful thing!” Jemma assured. However, she slid down the wall as her face fell. “But you were right Daisy.”

Daisy cocked an eyebrow. “Right about what? That you had a massive crush on him. Hate to break it to you, Jems, but that was rather ob--”

“I have a Soul Song.”

The words rushed out of her mouth like a wave and she could see the exact moment it washed over her friend, leaving her to only say a quiet, “oh.” Daisy turned to slide down the wall next to Jemma, their feet stuck out to touch the skirting board across the way.

“I heard it in a coffee shop before I met him,” Jemma supplied before Daisy could ask. “The same day, though, which for some reason makes it all the more frustrating.”

Daisy stayed quiet for a moment, nodding her head but her eyes focused on the opposite wall. Eventually, she spoke.

“Do you wish it was him?” she asked, turning her gaze away from the wall.

The word was off Jemma’s tongue before her mind had even caught up. “Yes.” If she was being honest, that had been the thought that had been weaved into her Soul Song since she had first met Fitz. It seemed ridiculous that she had found this person, had this connection with him, and she couldn’t follow what she wanted because of a Soul Song. 

“Do you want to be with him?” Daisy asked, her voice thoughtful in the darkness. Jemma nodded, brushing away a stray tear she hadn’t realized had been welling up in her eyes.

“Well…” Daisy started, “Then fuck it.”

Jemma turned her head so quickly to her friend that it made her tired mind dizzy for a moment. “What?”

“I said fuck it. I don’t know what game the universe is playing, Jems, but I see the way you look at him and how he looks at you. And if I know one thing, without a doubt, it’s that you and Fitz belong together.”

Jemma bit her lip to stop the tears and leaned on her friend’s shoulder, a sudden weight lifting off her chest. She’d heard stories of Soul Song’s fading or people choosing to ignore them. It was rare, but for Fitz, she felt it was worth it.

* * *

Jemma woke up the next morning later than she normally did and so she was still in her pajamas when she heard Fitz’s signature knock on the door. She bolted down the hallway, passing Daisy, who was sitting on the couch, and swung the door open to reveal Fitz. He was covered in a light drifting of snow, his gloved hands holding a drink tray and his eyes a gorgeous wintery blue. As she marveled at how much his eyes could change color depending on the light she nearly forgot to let him into the apartment. 

“Goodmorning, Jemma,” he said brightly as she let him pass through the doorway. 

“Goodmorning, Fitz. What’ve you got there?” She pointed at the grocery bag slung over his arm. The right corner of his lips tugged upwards and his eyes sparkled. 

“I thought we could make pancakes. It is a snow day after all.” 

Jemma brushed the little flakes clinging to his coat jacked, her hands lingering on his surprisingly strong shoulders for a moment. “I can see that. Shall we make them together?”

“I wouldn’t make them any other way.” 

Jemma took the drink tray from his hands and placed it on the entryway table before helping him shrug out of his coat. When he went to pick it up again she shooed him off. “I can carry it in, you’re already carrying the groceries.” He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her hairline, his lips surprisingly warm in spite of the chill he’d just escaped from. 

As they rounded into the kitchen, Daisy shouted a buoyant hello to Fitz. She even pushed aside her laptop and jumped up from the couch to greet him. “I heard the word pancakes,” Daisy said, leaning her elbows on the countertop. 

Fitz, who had begun washing his hands, narrowed his eyes at her playfully. “Haven’t made them yet, if you just came here for the free food. Going to have to push yourself and be patient.”

“Hardy har,” Daisy bantered back, sticking out her tongue childishly. Whenever she and Fitz talked it was like they suddenly became a pair of nine-year-olds. 

“I did get you a coffee, though,” he continued, gesturing to the drink tray Jemma had set on the counter. “Should be the one with  _ Buttface _ written on the side.”

“You spoil us,” Daisy dead-panned, but she thanked him after the first sip before retreating back to her laptop on the couch. 

Jemma grinned at the both of them, handing Fitz the stirring spoon. As she reached to get the pancake mix from one of the grocery bags, she noticed the logo on the side of her cup of what she knew was her favorite tea. “You went to The Hubbub?” 

“Yeah. Ran out of teabags at home and I was making a stop anyway for the pancake mix.”

“I thought you hated going there?” Jemma said. Her mind had begun humming her Soul Song once more. Why did it always have to start up when she was around Fitz like some cruel sick joke?

He shook his head. “I hate going there on a weekday. It’s always so packed and you can barely hear your order get called. I mean, just last month I was trying to get my drink and I got shoved directly into this poor woman. Didn’t even get to properly apologize, just muttered a quick ‘I’m so sorry’ before I got shoved away from her myself. But, anyway, the weekends are much calmer there and I know you like their brand.”

Jemma’s heart began beating quickly as the memory of her first experience at the coffee shop flooded into her mind. It couldn’t be… 

“Jemma, can you hand me the measuring cup?” 

Jemma jumped, brushing her hair behind her ear before passing him the cooking utensil. She’d always enjoyed watching Fitz work in the lab but there was something intimate and domestic about watching him stir the pancake batter, the towel he’d used to dry his hands slung over his shoulder. In the lab, they were always debating or talking, but here it was more… cheerful. Cheerful and domestic. Fitz, his hands moving about and adding different ingredients, was so engrossed in his task that he hadn’t noticed he’d started humming.

Jemma froze as every nerve in her body lit up like she’d been hit by lightning. The tune was soft and sweet but had the building blocks of notes she needed. His humming was lilted somehow, an arching melody in a crescendo her’s had been building to. 

In the brief moment where he paused, Jemma filled the gap by starting the song at the beginning. Her voice was tentative but she wasn’t humming. She was singing words she had never heard before but felt as though she’d always known. Standing in front of the refrigerator, only able to see him from behind, she watched as Fitz went still. The spoon dropped back into the bowl and he spun to look at her. 

His blue eyes were wide and his soft lips slightly parted. As her part built, his continued the crescendo and they finished the tune in perfect harmony. For the first time in months, her mind finally went quiet and her heart picked up the rhythm.

“It’s you,” he crooned. Coming off of their song, his voice suddenly sounded like music. “I had given up hoping… but I had wished--”

“Me as well--”

“I wanted it--”

“To be you.” They said the final statement in a chorus before letting off chimes of laughter.

Jemma rushed to him and he caught her firmly in his arms. She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him with all the passion she could put in. Giving as good as he got, Fitz deepened this kiss. Her feet on tip-toe, she felt like she was flying. 


End file.
